Ben Hildebrand
|portrayed = Mark Harelik |status = Deceased |family = Amanda Kirby (girlfriend) |died = May, 2001}} Benjamin "Ben" Hildebrand was the boyfriend of Amanda Kirby following her divorce from Paul, and a father figure of sorts to her son Eric. Intending to bond with Eric, Ben organizes an illegal parasailing tour of Isla Sorna run by Enrique Cardoso. However, due to a freak accident, the boat crashed and Ben and Eric were forced to detach while parachuting, becoming stranded on the island as a result; Ben was killed at some point during this ordeal, leaving Eric to fend for himself in the hostile environment until help arrived. Film= Biography Background At some point following Amanda Kirby’s divorce from her husband Paul, she and Ben met and struck up a romance. He also bonded with her son Eric, and became a father figure of sorts to him. Dino-Soar At some point, Ben — in an attempt to further bond with Eric — offered to take him on an illicit parasailing tour of Isla Sorna, despite knowing full well that the island was strictly off-limits to human exploration. Though well aware of the potential ramifications of the tour, both legal and otherwise, Ben was able to obtain Amanda’s permission to take her son on the trip as planned. Sometime later, Ben and Eric had arrived in Costa Rica and the parasailing tour initially proceeded as planned, even with Enrique Cardoso and his partner at the helm of Dino-Soar; both were eventually able to behold Isla Sorna for themselves, and Ben continued to beckon the tour guide for a closer approach to the island. The accident As the boat travelled through a river in the island the weather progressively became more difficult to contend with — though it remained clear a thick bank of fog had soon formed in the boat’s path, severely impeding visibility; Ben and Eric remained above the blanket of fog but lost sight of the boat beneath them. The boat eventually cleared the fog, but to their shock it had been left vacated, with blood splattered across the deck and some minor on-board damage from an unknown source. With the now-unmanned boat hurtling uncontrollably towards a none-too-distant rock formation and Eric panicking, Ben attempted to release them before the moment of impact, being successful at the very last second just as the boat collided with the rocks. As they drifted through the air toward the island’s jungle, Ben attempted to reassure a shaken Eric, telling him that everything will be alright. Aftermath and death At some point following this ordeal the two finally landed on Isla Sorna and were both forced to resort to basic survival skills until any sort of help came. During the landing their parachute became snagged on a tree branch, leaving Ben and Eric hanging; Eric managed to detach from the parachute and fell to the forest floor as Ben recorded this with a handheld camcorder. However, Ben did not last long on the island, and Eric had been left to fend for himself. When help did finally arrive in the form of Eric's parents and Dr. Alan Grant, they had found the parachute still tangled in the tree branches. Pulling it off, they were startled to discover Ben's skeletal remains suddenly fall from the branches above, still harnessed to the parachute. The horrified Amanda fled the scene screaming, forcing Paul to run after her. After catching up with Amanda, she revealed that — although initially stunned by the loss of Ben — she was far more concerned with locating her son Eric, who was still yet to be found. Personality and traits Ben was a kind and protective figure, especially towards his girlfriend and her son Eric, with whom he wanted to bond. However, he was ultimately misguided and expressed a naïve irresponsibility in that he brought Eric on an illegal tour of Isla Sorna despite being aware of the implications of such a trip. Despite this, following the boat accident Ben attempted to reassure Eric that everything was going to be OK, in spite of being skeptical himself. Equipment Ben carried a Panasonic video camera during the journey in order to record the parasailing tour. The camera was later recovered by Eric’s parents in an attempt to locate his whereabouts. |-|Novella= ''Jurassic Park Adventures: Survivor The novella ''Jurassic Park Adventures: Survivor Ben Hildebrand is the owner of a company called Dot.Com Engineering.Scott Ciencin (2001). Jurassic Park Adventures: Survivor, page 1-5. He is a very wealthy man. He has taken his new girlfriend, Amanda Kirby, and her son, Eric Kirby, on a multiple-week vacation to three countries; the last being Costa Rica.Scott Ciencin (2001). Jurassic Park Adventures: Survivor, page 18, 19. Ben's platinum Visa allowed Amanda and Eric to try expensive delicacies from all those countries. In Costa Rica, Ben has his own yacht with a Jacuzzi at its stern. Ben makes Amanda smile and laugh, something that Eric had not seen for years. Eric also liked Ben because he was everything his dad was not: funny, smart, rich and a real risk-taker. However, Eric does not want him to replace his dad. When Amanda tells Ben how much Eric likes dinosaurs, he contacts Dino-Soar to make an illegal parasailing trip to Isla Sorna. After something happenedIt is not specified what happened. to the chartered boat towing them, they crash-land into the trees. Ben told Eric everything was going to be all right. However, Eric saw that Ben was very badly injured in the fall. Ben told Eric to go to the beach. If rescuers in helicopters came, the shoreline was the first place they'd start looking. Ben told Eric it would be all right again. He smiled and then got very quiet. Even though his eyes didn't close, Eric knew he wasn't with him anymore. |-|Games= ''LEGO Jurassic World Ben Hildebrand can be found in the scenario ''The Spinosaurus caught in a tree where he can be freed by cutting the vines of the tree using a character with a sharp object (such as Dr. Alan Grant). Ben's Dino-Soar parasail is found much earlier in the game in another area of the island. Upon freeing him, the player(s) earn a gold brick and can purchased for 45,000 studs. Media Videos References Eric Kiry survival book It is also belived that ben died from being stabed to death by a large amount of branches. The last thing he does is smile and say that it will be alright. Category:Jurassic Park III characters Category:LEGO Jurassic World characters Category:Male characters Category:Off-screen deaths Category:Adults Category:Deceased characters Category:Deceased characters (Films) Category:Dinosaur victims